


JMC

by SerialObsessor (ibelieveinturtles)



Series: Soul to Soul [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe – Soulmates, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Challenges, Crack, F/F, Gen, JMC Challenge, Kicking Hydra Butt, Rated M for Strong Language, Ridiculousness, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-08-22 22:00:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8302795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieveinturtles/pseuds/SerialObsessor
Summary: I don't even know, it was hard enough coming up with a title for this thing...





	1. True Love Is Just An Explosion Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChrissiHR](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChrissiHR/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Words on my skin, love in my heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1759835) by [amusewithaview](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amusewithaview/pseuds/amusewithaview). 



> If you've come here from ChrissiHR's Seargeant, Soldier, Soulmate then you know what's going on. If you haven't, here's the thing:
> 
> I read an offhand comment that Chrissi made on another comment on chapter 10 of Girl with the Dagger Tattoo and said "i want to write that for you but LIFE." She said, well I was thinking of writing it too. Then I said... it's the weekend! So we came up with the following rules:
> 
> 1\. must use the phrase "Jesus Monkeyballs Christ"  
> 2\. must write 5 ficlets  
> 3\. must write no more than 500 words for each challenge ficlet  
> 4\. any pairing is allowed
> 
> 2 of which I have broken. SorryNotSorry. I ended up with 6 ficlets, and I don't think any of them are under 500 words. 4 are soulmate, 2 are not.

“JESUS MONKEYBALLS CHRIST!” Darcy screamed as she flailed wildly at the wall of muscle that suddenly appeared in front of her.

Or rather, she appeared in front of it. For a moment there was absolute silence, and then...

“Bet you didn’t see that comin’.” A voice behind her said laughingly as gunfire rang out all around them. She whirled around, all ready to bust some balls, “Well of course I didn’t see that coming you fucking moron,” she yelled at the other wall of muscle behind her, “cos thirty seconds ago I was in Stark’s goddamned fucking lab trying to warn them about the smoking bloody resonator which then promptly fucking exploded, causing some sort of temporal disturbance in Jane’s wormhole doohickey, which then proceeded to explode AS WELL, and now I’ve ended up...” Her eyes were slowly following the line of the muscle-containing chest up to the face of... Captain America.

“Actually ma’am, I was talking to...” The Man With A Plan started saying as her mouth caught up with her eyes, and promptly dropped open.

“What the fuck?” she said, as she looked him up and down, and then a thought occurred to her, and she turned to take another look behind her.

“Oh holy motherfucking Christmas.” She said weakly. “I just landed in the middle of world War Two didn’t I? And you’re...” she pointed in awe “Captain fucking America,” then she turned again, “and you’re...” her eyes ran up and down him with an indiscernible expression, “Bucky fucking Barnes.” She breathed out slowly. The two men watched her face light up as something else occurred to her. “Oh my god, is this a Hydra thing? Are we destroying a Hydra base? I’ve always wanted to help take down a Hydra thing, I hate those motherfuckers so much, but you won’t let me out of the lab, and what’s with that squid symbol of theirs anyway? Don’t they know that the Hydra has like, lots of heads, not tentacles? Ooh, and I’ve totally got my taser in my pocket, so just show me where to point it so I can electrocute some Hydra balls dude!”

She looked between the two faces, one confused, one smirking, and her brow wrinkled with concern. “What? Did I say something? Are you ok?” and then the confused face looked down at her, and a huge grin slowly appeared.

“I take back every horrible thing I ever thought about you. I’ll be happy to help you electrocute whoever you want doll.” She gaped up at him, momentarily stunned into silence. “No.” She said disbelievingly “Really?”

He nodded at her. “Really.”

“Don’t get me wrong, cos this is like, super awesome, but holy shit. This is not how I thought this would go. Oh my god, what if I change something?” She clapped a hand over her mouth, shook her head slowly, and then brightened up. “Okay, lets blow this joint, then we’ll worry about the future. Lead on soulmate!”

 


	2. When I Exploded Into Your Life And Then Slid Out Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another slip through time, in another universe, to find a soulmate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's another one, not quite like but similar to, the last one.  
> This one went way over the 500 word limit.

 

 

Steve and Bucky were advancing cautiously through the Hydra base when there was an unexpected explosion up ahead of them. There was a rush of Hydra goons, a short, swift battle, another explosion, and when the smoke cleared, a strangely dressed young woman was leaning against the wall coughing hard. She shook her head vigorously, and then looked around in a daze. Steve stepped up to her carefully whilst Bucky lifted his pistol, covering him.

“Ma’am? Are you all right?” he asked.

She looked up, startled. “What the? Steve? What are you doing...” she looked around again as Steve glanced back at Bucky with concern - they hadn’t been aware that any American women had somehow ended up in Hydra clutches. “Wait, where are we?”

“You’re in a Hydra base ma’am. Do you know how you got here?”

“A Hydra base? What? But I was in the lab...” Her confused gaze then drifted over to where Bucky was still standing with his firearm raised and her eyes went wide. “Jesus monkeyballs Christ.” She said quietly, and passed out. Steve managed to catch her before she hit the floor, and the two men just stared at each other for a moment.

“Did she just?” Bucky asked his friend, and Steve nodded, then grinned.

“Bet you didn’t see that comin’.”

Bucky did not give in to the temptation to flip Steve off as he holstered his gun and joined his friend. He peered into the girls face curiously. “So who is she and where did she come from?”

“No idea.”

“But she knows you.”

“A lot of people know who I am now Buck. Doesn’t mean I know them.”

“Spose we should get her somewhere safe til we finish up here then huh?”

“Good idea, here you go.” He suddenly found himself with an armful of warm girl as Steve picked his shield up from where he’d dropped it. “Take her back to those rooms we cleared back there, and figure out what you’re gonna say to her when she wakes up. I’ll be back soon.”

“Steve...”

“Nope, your soulmate, your problem. Go.”

Bucky cursed silently to himself as he walked back down the corridor, breathing in the smells of gun smoke, and something sweet that drifted up to him from the girl. He found a room, put her down on the floor, then secured the door, just in case. Then he sat and waited for her to wake up.

“Jane? You wouldn’t believe the dream I just had...” she murmured as she woke up. “Oh. You’re not Jane.”

Before he had a chance to say anything, the air between them began to swirl as a whirlpool of nothing appeared. He darted around it and pushed her behind him, “Goddamned fucking Hydra, just stay behind me sweetheart.” he said as he glanced at her unafraid face. It lit up. “Oh my god, you’re my soulmate. It’s okay, that’s my ride home.” She leant around and kissed him, soft lips warm against his, hands pressed firmly to his face.

“Come find me when you wake up.” She said dramatically, and laughed. “No really, I’ll be waiting for you, as soon as you’re ready.” And she stepped back into the whirling light, and was gone.

 


	3. Another Day, Another Explosion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More time travel, different people, different direction. No soulmates here though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's number three!!!

It was another ordinary day. Jane hadn’t slept, Darcy hadn’t showered, Tony hadn’t **not** annoyed them, and the Avengers were off saving the world. Again. So it wasn’t surprising that the lab blew up. Again. The surprising bit was when the smoke cleared and a pair of soldiers in what looked like World War Two uniforms were sprawled in the middle of the floor. One of them was flaming. A little bit.

Darcy stared down at them, “Jesus monkeyballs Christ.” She sighed as she grabbed the fire extinguisher and proceeded to douse the pair before the flames spread. Jane and Tony joined her, and they all stared at the bodies on the floor. One of them groaned and rolled over. The other one followed, like an echo. Tony peered down at them.

“Well this is different.” He said, then he looked closer. “Steve?”

The first pair of blue eyes opened. “Yes? What happened? Where am I?” a familiar voice said.

The second body groaned again. “How the hell would I know? I haven’t opened my eyes yet.”

Jane stood next to Tony, “If that’s Steve, then is that...”

“Who are you?” the man lying on the floor asked, frowning as he looked between the three people staring down at him.

“Are you serious?” the other man asked, eyes still closed. The first man looked over and kicked him in the leg. “Open your damn eyes will ya Bucky?”

“Jesus monkeyballs Christ!!!” Darcy said again as she stared straight into the eyes of Bucky Barnes.

“Why does she keep saying that?” he asked, as Steve sat up and looked around. “What the hell’s going on?”

“Were you gentlemen involved in an explosion involving strange or unusual machines or equipment recently?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, we were, why?”

“You were on fire.” Darcy grinned at Bucky. “I had to put your flames out.”

He grinned back as he got to feet. “Guess I owe you then doll.”

“Alright you two, save it for later. Gentlemen, you’re in 2016.”

Steve and Bucky exchanged a look. “You believe this guy?” Bucky said to Steve, not even bothering to lower his voice.

Steve shrugged. “No reason not to yet. I mean, you ever seen anything like this at home?”

“Nope, can’t say that I have. Not to mention the dames are sure something to look at.” He winked at Darcy, who blushed slightly. Steve followed Bucky’s gaze and smiled. “Yeah, I can’t argue with that.”

Darcy looked at Tony, “Can I keep them?? Please???” she wheedled. Tony gave her an exasperated look. “You can’t. We have to return them to 1944. Besides, you’ve already got one, and I’m sure the other one will turn up sooner or later.”

“But I like these ones, see how they look at me!”

“Darcy no.”

“You’re no fun Tony.” Darcy pouted.

“I’m all the fun Lewis. You’re just looking in the wrong places.”

“We were kind of in the middle of something important back there.” Steve interrupted. “Um, so how do we get back?”

 

 


	4. How Shall I Kill Him, Let Me Count The Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curses!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another soulmate one this time, no time travel!
> 
> Oh this one is so far over the word limit though...

 

 

Darcy stomped into the kitchen. It was early, she was tired, and she had just had a very unpleasant altercation with Thor’s brother Loki, culminating in her telling him to go fuck himself.

She was peering into the fridge trying to decide if getting drunk was a good option when Natasha came in.

“Darcy.”

“Jesus monkeyballs Christ.” Darcy replied, and promptly slapped her hands over her mouth. Nat tipped her head to one side and blinked. Darcy was wide eyed with shock.

“Jesus...” she tried again, and her eyes went wide.

“Oh dear.” Natasha walked over to Darcy, and hugged her. “For what it’s worth, Loki is an asshat and he deserved what you said. Now, shall we go find him?”

“MONKEYBALLS!” Darcy said fiercely.

 

The first person they found was Tony. He was alone in the now otherwise empty lab.

“Have you seen Thor and Loki?” Natasha asked.

“No I have not, and I hope to keep it that way.” Tony replied. “Why? Is something wrong.?”

“Jesus **monkeyballs CHRIST**.” Darcy said with a distinct undercurrent of ‘Yes, and I’m going to kill him.’

Tony blinked. “What did I do this time?”

“Nothing. “ Natasha assures him. ”For some reason it’s all she can say at the moment.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Loki?”

Darcy nodded wildly.

“Right then, I’m coming with you.”

 

Next they came across Clint and Wanda, who were watching River Monsters in the common area. “Loki. We’re looking for him. It’s urgent.” Tony said quickly.

Wanda looked up, “He will not come near us, he is too ashamed. What has he done now?”

“Jesus monkeyballs Christ, **Jesus monkeyballs Christ,** JESUSMONKEYBALLSCHRIST.” Darcy said. Clint failed to not laugh and Wanda’s eyes bugged out. “Oh dear, this is not good.” Wanda said as she elbowed Clint in the ribs.

“Sorry Darce.” Clint said to the glaring girl. “Have you tried going back to the lab?”

“That’s where they found me.” Tony informed the archer.

“Would they have gone looking for food?” Wanda suggested. They all trooped off the dining room, and even Clint tagged along.

 

There was no sign of the two demigods in the dining room, but just as they were turning to leave, Steve, Sam and Scott arrived with a newly returned Bucky Barnes in tow.

“Hey, have you guys seen Thor and Loki? We need to find them asap.” Tony asked.

“Sorry Tony, we just got back. What’s up?”

“Darcy?” Tony turned to the young woman. She shook her head and placed a hand over her mouth.

“It’s ok Darce, Steve will understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Loki has bewitched Darcy, her vocabulary is extremely limited at the moment.” Wanda told him. Darcy nodded vigorously.

All four men looked at her curiously but she stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

“Come on Darcy, it can’t be that bad can it?” Sam said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against his shoulder as she nodded again. Steve crossed his arms and looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

“I’m not leaving until you speak to me.”

Darcy sighed, took a deep breath, and muttered “ _JesusmonkeyballsChrist_.”

“What?” Steve exchanged a glance with Bucky, who stepped up beside him. Darcy eyed him suspiciously.

“Can you say that again please, I didn’t quite catch it.” Steve asked.

“Jesus. Monkeyballs. Christ.” Darcy said clearly this time, still eyeing Bucky off.

Bucky calmly pulled a large knife out of nowhere, and looked her straight in the eye.

“Would you like me to castrate, eviscerate, hamstring or just stab him?”

“Yes please.” Darcy replied breathlessly.

 


	5. The Inaugural Annual Avengers Absolutely Amazing Adventure Day (kids under 5 must be accompanied by an adult on all rides. Blame the Barton’s.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's like a summer carnival, only with the Avengers. Soulmate version

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was the last one. Then I decided to do it again, slightly different. So this is version 1.

 

 

It was loud and crowded, like the 4th of July and the Superbowl all rolled into one. Bucky was having a hard time believing that every single person here today was involved with The Avengers in some form or another. Whoever had had the bright idea to hold a family fun day for the Avengers and their support staff had a lot to answer for. He dodged around a pair of screaming children and narrowly avoided another child throwing up on his shoes. He’d lost Steve about an hour ago, and hadn’t seen another familiar face since. He turned on the spot, desperately seeking Susan... no, that was some bad movie he’d been forced to watch the other night. Desperately seeking anyone who could point him in the direction of the exit. If there even was one. He was starting to have his doubts. He turned his head as he thought he heard a familiar voice call out to him but it was just another desperate parent trying to convince its offspring that the line for the carousel was ‘too long sweetheart, how about the jumping castle instead?’

Jumping Castle. Now that rang a bell. Who had said they were going to be at the jumping castle all day? Barton’s wife? And another woman he’d noticed around lately. Thor’s girl? No, Thor’s girl’s assistant. She always seemed friendly, maybe she’d help him escape the worst form of torture he’d ever experienced. And that was saying something for him.

Looking around again he spotted his goal, and fought his way through the crowd.

There were about 200 kids on the overlarge blowup trampoline. Okay, ten kids. And one buxom brunette in a pretty summer dress holding a toddler on her hip. Barton’s wife was standing to one side, watching the kids, the woman, the toddler, and holding a three way conversation with Natasha and Wanda as well.

As he watched, half of the kids tumbled off the front of the ride, and the girl sat down with the toddler, as the rest of the kids tumbled carefully around them.

He didn’t see exactly what happened next, but one minute everything was upright and bouncy, and the next it was collapsing inwards on top of the remaining kids and the brunette. Without even thinking Bucky raced forwards and dived under the edge of the collapsed roof, and managed to drag two of the kids out. He passed them off to Nat and Wanda and then crawled back in after the rest. With all the kids out he crawled in one last time looking for the girl. He could hear a voice calling out towards the back, and other voices calling back as he grasped her ankle, and hauled himself up next to her.

“Jesus monkeyballs Christ!” She said as he pulled her out of the collapsed attraction. “Thanks for the rescue dude.”

He gaped at her for a minute as her words sank in, and then smiled.

“Well I guess I was trapped in this hell hole for a good reason after all.” he replied.

 


	6. The Inaugural Annual Avengers Absolutely Amazing Adventure Day (kids under 5 must be accompanied by an adult on all rides. Blame the Barton’s.) V2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Version Two of Chapter 5

  
B) non soulmate

After the dust settled from the disaster that was the Sokovia Accords, and everyone was back in their rightful places, heads, hearts and limbs mended, Darcy Lewis decided that what was really needed, was not just a team bonding event, but a facility wide bonding event. And so The Inaugural Annual Avengers Absolutely Amazing Adventure Day was born.

As Darcy climbed onto the jumping castle with the youngest addition to the Barton family she was feeling more satisfied than she had for a while. The Adventure Day was a roaring success, with families from all levels of the Avengers organisation attending. And there were so many! Every single Avenger was here as well, from the retired (Clint Barton) right through to the newest (Bucky Barnes, fresh out cryo stasis and brain rehab), whom she hadn't even met yet.

Holding young Nathaniel carefully by the hands she gently bounced up and down, listening happily to his delighted giggles as the other children jumped noisily around them until a strange hissing sound caught her attention. Then there was a jolt as something hit the inflatable, a tearing noise and the whole thing started to collapsed majestically around them. Her first instinct was to push Nathaniel towards the front of the castle whilst simultaneously yelling at the rest of the kids.  
“Everybody, OFF NOW! HURRY UP. YOU AT THE BACK, MOVE!!!”  
She dived towards the back corner and grabbed at the kid who was just standing there staring at the rapidly approaching roof. She pushed him hard, and he toppled off just as she was trapped inside by the stiff plastic.  
She could hear loud voices outside as she started wriggling her way towards what she hoped was the front, muttering to herself the whole time.  
“Crap, damn, shit, bugger... Jesus monkeyballs Christ!!” The last bit came out as a loud squawk as the weight was suddenly lifted off of her and an unfamiliar face looked down as she rolled over and squinted up into the sun.  
“You always use that kind of language around kids?” it asked.  
“Only the Barton’s.” She replied as she took the hand he offered and pulled herself was pulled up effortlessly. “Thanks for the help.”  
“You're welcome.” He replied quietly as they both looked at the remains of the ride. “So... monkeyballs?”  
She looked sideways into curious blue eyes and laughed. “Not actually what you think. Well, they don't know it as anything else anyway.”  
“So, what do they think it is?” Blue Eyes asked.  
She turned to look at him straight on. “You really want to know?”  
His face crinkled up as he gave a lopsided smile, “You've piqued my curiosity.” he nodded.  
“All right then, follow us.” She turned and whistled loudly at the kids that were standing around, “Hey guys, Rescue Dude here wants to know what monkeyballs are!”  
With a variety of whoops and screams the kids raced off and grabbing his hand, Darcy led him expertly through the crowds. A few minutes later they arrived at the edge of a large fenced area that was covered with gym mats, with several children bouncing around on large, handled balls.  
“There you go.” Darcy indicated with her free hand, and then reached over the fence and picked one up. It had the smiling face of a monkey printed on one side, and a long monkey tail on the other.  
“Monkey balls.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A brief history of space hoppers. 
> 
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_hopper


	7. I’ll Wait For as Long as it Takes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his soulmate disappears from.the locked room they're in, Bucky realises something very important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of JMC#2 - [When I Exploded Into Your Life And Then Slid Out Again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8302795/chapters/19014098)  
> if you need to refresh your memory. I've been working on this bit for months, and finally knuckled down and finished it up a couple of days ago.
> 
> It's unbeta'd in it's final form, so any mistakes or lapses in continuity are mine.
> 
> No Civil War!

** 1944 **

 

Bucky was watching the light pulse hypnotically when he heard Steve calling his name down the corridor, and he stirred himself just enough to unbolt the door.

“What the hell is that?” Steve asked as he entered the room just in time to see the light pulse one more time before it faded and winked out of existence. “Where's the girl Buck?” 

Bucky slid down the wall, blinking. “She's gone. She stepped into a... I dunno... it was like... a whirlpool made of light... and it just… it just hung in the air…”

Steve peered into his friend's face before looking around the room again. It was empty, the only light coming from the dull globe hanging on the wall. He looked back at Bucky who was staring at the wall with a blank look on his face.

“I don't even know her name Steve,” he said, finally looking up at Steve. “How will I ever find her again if I don't even know her name?”

 

 

** 2014 **

 

Steve watched distractedly as the removal team continued to carry boxes and strange looking contraptions into the laboratory next to Bruce's. He'd come back to the Avengers Tower for the weekend at Thor's insistence, as his partner and her assistant had just moved to the Tower now that Thor had decided to remain on Earth after the events of London. Clint and Natasha were temporarily in residence and they were standing next to him, idly watching the parade and making the odd comment here and there on what they thought might be in the boxes.

“Oh look, here they come,” Clint stood up straighter, and waved vigorously at the two women who had just walked through the front doors with Thor. Steve glanced over, and then looked back in shock. The one with the longer hair and bright red beanie looked incredibly familiar.

“Come on Rogers, I’ll introduce you. Darcy’s single,” Clint nudged him in the ribs.

Steve didn’t say anything as the trio came to a stop in front of them, and the woman who looked just like Bucky’s soulmate flung her arms around Hawkeye with a squeal of delight.

“Hey birdman, it’s good to see you again! How’s the secret agent business going? You ready to quit and run away with me yet?” she babbled enthusiastically.

“Hey now Darce, you know I can’t do that,” Clint said with a huge smile. “Now let me introduce you to Steve. Ladies, this is Steve Rogers - Steve, this is Doctor Jane Foster, astrophysicist extraordinaire, and her amazing assistant, Darcy Lewis.”

Steve murmured a hello as they both greeted him, and try as he might he couldn’t stop staring at Darcy, matching her features to the perfectly preserved memory of the day in the German Hydra base. She was a little younger than the memory, and although he watched her carefully for any signs of recognition other than the usual ‘oh wow, you’re Captain America’ ones, she showed no signs of having ever met him before. He didn’t notice Natasha watching him just as carefully from behind Clint.

 

*~*

 

Natasha caught him in the common room later that evening, after everyone else had gone to bed.

“So... what’s up with you and Darcy?” she asked. He turned and looked at her, wondering how much he should tell the spy. Everything, he decided, she’d probably figure it out sooner or later anyway.

“Nothing. But, I have met her before, although today was the first time she’s met me.”

She watched him for a moment, searching his face. “How?”

“Would you believe time travel?” Steve asked. “It’s the only explanation I can think of.”

Nat blinked, and then sat down.

“Tell me everything.”

Steve sat down next to her, and told her the whole story.

“But I’m pretty sure it hasn’t happened for her yet. She didn’t show any signs of having met me before, and she looks… a little younger, less world weary? I only saw her for a few minutes, before I made Bucky take her back to safety, and then when I got back again she was gone. We never knew her name, or where she came from, or where she went. He never talked about it much, and well, if I’d even thought about her when I woke up, I would have assumed she was long dead.”

Nat shook her head, “Well I guess I’ll have to cross her off my list of potential dates for you then.”

Steve chuckled, “Probably a good idea, I’d feel rather strange dating my dead best friend’s soulmate while I wait for mine to show up,” he twisted around, staring in the general direction of the labs. “I do however, think I could always use another friend. And I’ll just wait and see what happens.”

Natasha nodded, “Talk about him to her, she’ll need the support. Eventually. Even if she thinks she’s just a convenient ear for now.”

Steve nodded back. That thought had occurred to him as well.

 

*~*

 

The months since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been long and weary. They'd been searching for Bucky for weeks now, and it was just pure chance that he and Sam had run into him raiding an old Hydra safe house for supplies, while they were reconnoitering the same building. Steve waited on tenterhooks as he waited to see what Bucky would do.

“Bucky?” he said hesitantly, hands down, and trying very hard not to appear threatening. He didn’t want Bucky to just disappear on them.

“Steve,” Bucky finally replied, poised to flee at the slightest provocation.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“That’s not a good idea right now.”

“I just… I just wanna know that you’re okay,” Steve said hopefully.

“I’ve been worse.”

Sam snorted from behind him, and as Steve noted the way Bucky’s eyes flickered skittishly between the two men facing him, he slowly realised that he had no hope in hell of convincing Bucky to come home with them… not yet anyway.

“Do you need anything?” he asks.

Bucky stared for a moment, and then shook his head. “I’m good.”

Steve nodded to himself. “Well, if you do need anything, you know where to find me… do you know where to find me?” he suddenly realised that it was entirely possible that his friend didn’t know where he was living these days.

“Yeah, I know where to find you,” Bucky replied warily.

The silence lengthened, as Steve frantically tried to remember all the things he’d planned on saying to Bucky when he finally found him… instead here he was, just standing around and having a - what would Sam call it? - a brain fart. No, a brain short circuit. Cos that’s what his brain was about to do. Shortcircuit.

“I found your soulmate,” Steve blurted out, without even realising what he was about to say. He heard Sam’s hiss of surprise from behind him. “She's here Bucky. Now. Alive and well.”

Bucky’s expression changes slightly, as if he’s not sure why this is important. “Soulmate?”

“Yeah, the girl from that Hydra base. Do you… do you remember?”

“I don’t have a soulmate,” Bucky replied as his face hardened again, and he turned to leave.

“Yes you do Bucky - you met her on a raid in 1944. She didn’t tell you her name.”

Bucky turned around and looked at Steve with the same immutable expression that he'd had since they caught up with him. “That’s impossible,” he said.

“Would I lie to you?” Steve lifted an eyebrow at his friend, and he could feel Sam bristling with curiosity behind him.

“She must be real old by now then. Probably no point in looking for her.”

“She’s the same age Buck - actually a couple of years younger I think.”

“That’s impossible,” Bucky repeated.

Steve sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. “Remember all those science fiction stories you used to read? You always loved the ones with spaceships and time travel in them. Well, I think she time travelled.”

Sam is almost having conniptions behind him now.

Bucky shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m no good for anyone anymore.”

“She said she'd wait for you. You told me that,” Steve reminded him, and for a moment, the other man's expression softened.

“She said she'd be waiting, when I was ready,” he said slowly. “When I was ready…” he drew the words out, testing them for meaning. “When **I...** was **ready** … You think she knew? Even then?” he asked with a curious tilt to his head.

Steve nodded slowly. He'd been thinking about it ever since he'd gotten over the shock of being introduced to her just a few short months ago. “Yeah, I do. Maybe not now, not yet, but I think she will.”

For a moment, Steve thought that he’d done it, that he’d convinced him to come with them, but then Bucky shook his head.

“Then it’s definitely not the right time yet,” he said thoughtfully. “And that’s good, cos I'm not ready, not yet.”

He looked at Steve with determination, and Steve could see the new light shining in his eyes that hadn’t been there a few short minutes ago.

“There's… parts of me that aren't back Steve, and - there’s other things too… I’m dangerous Steve. Really dangerous... so this isn't the right time. And if you say it hasn’t happened for her yet, then it means I have time to find those pieces. I have time to put myself back together Steve.”

“But…”

“Steve, he’s right, it’s his choice,” Sam said quietly, having recovered from his own little mental breakdown. “You can't do this for him.”

“Look after her for me. I'll keep in touch, but I have to do this on my own,” Bucky said as he turned and walked away.

“Let him go, Steve,” Sam put a hand on Steve's shoulder and held him back as he made to follow. “He'll come back when he's ready. Now about this soulmate?”

“Wait a minute,” Steve said, and then called out to Bucky once more. “Don’t you want to know her name?”

Bucky stopped again, and Steve just knew he was arguing with himself about how dangerous it would be to his soulmate if he knew her name. Just as he thought Bucky was going to leave without responding, he turned around and nodded once.

“It’s Darcy. Her name is Darcy.”

Bucky nodded, and Steve almost missed the whispered ‘Thank you,’ before he turned away again. Steve watched until Bucky disappeared into the haze before turning to face his own newly discovered soulmate.

“How would you like to visit the Avengers Tower?” he asked. “I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”

 

*~*

 

After his run in with Steve and the man with the wings (Sam, his name is Sam), ~~the Winter Soldier~~ \- no, ~~the Asset~~? No - Bucky - yes?no?yes? - (who am I?) - hoped to be left alone for a while. He was disappointed. Barely a month later and half a world away from that encounter, he had another one.

He didn't know if she'd come looking for him, or if it was a coincidence (doubtful, not with who she was), but she didn't hide from him, just planted herself out the front of the coffee house two blocks up from his hidey hole, and waited. She never once looked at him in recognition - just let her gaze slide over him as if he was another random stranger on the street, but the moment he laid eyes on her the spark of memory raced through his brain, lighting up previously shadowed areas like an electrical storm, leaving fire in its wake. He remembered… love? Definitely passion. He remembered a time before they ripped even deeper holes in his self.

He stayed away the day after he first saw her - almost fled the city, but something indefinable made him pause as he went to pull his bag from its hiding place.

The next day he went back, and then again the day after that, and the day after that - ignoring her as he went about his business - but she waited patiently day in and day out, never approaching him, just nursing a cup of tea or coffee, eating a pastry and reading a book before leaving after exactly one hour. The fifth day he followed her to see where she was staying and who she was with - and either she didn't know he was behind her (he didn't believe that for a minute) or she didn't care. She was staying in a shabby but respectable hotel on the other side of the city. She was alone.

After about a week he decided to take a ~~risk~~ chance.

 

*~*

 

Natasha didn't look up as a shadow fell across the table and the man she'd known so long ago sat down opposite her. She just sipped her coffee and continued reading her book.

“I know you,” he said warily.

“You did, once,” she replied.

“What do you want?” he asked quietly. “Did Steve ask you to keep an eye on me?”

“Steve doesn't know where I am,” she replied sedately. “He thinks I'm off finding myself.”

“What do you want?” he repeated.

“I'm here for myself - I just wanted to see that you're okay,” she said, lifting her eyes to look into his. “I tried to find you - after I... left, but every lead I found was a dead end. I would have got you out if I could.”

“It's probably a good thing that you didn't - I wouldn't have known you - and I probably would have killed you,” he said bluntly.

“Well it's not like you haven't tried before,” she said with a hint of a smile.

“So this is just, what, a reunion?”

She mulled this over for a moment. “Of a sort, I suppose.”

“I'm not him anymore,” he muttered between clenched teeth.

“And I'm not her anymore. You're not the only one who has a lot to come to terms with,” she said, and there were mixed undertones of sympathy and bitterness in her blunt words.

“You know I have a soulmate out there somewhere?” he asked roughly.

“Darcy. She's nice,” Natasha smiled.

“You know her?” he asked, surprise and confusion showing briefly on his face.

“I've known her longer than Steve has. She's an associate of Thor,” Natasha informed him. “I think she'll be perfect for you.”

“I'm not good for anyone.”

“No, not at the moment, and probably not for a while,” she agreed, “but there's some things you need to know, and see, before you write yourself off completely on her behalf.”

He watched her with suspicion as she picked up her bag, and pulled something out of it. She put a plastic folder on the table between them.

“Read this,” she said “It's all classified, but it was also part of the data dump, so…” she shrugged and got to her feet.

“What is it?” he asked without taking his eyes off her.

“It's all about Darcy. I thought you might like to know more about her, get to know her a bit.”

He frowned. “She's not a target for me to study up on.”

“No she's not. But she is a friend of mine, and she's a friend of Steve's, and while we're telling her all about you, don't you think it's fair that we tell you all about her as well?”

“Maybe you should all just keep to yourselves and leave both of us alone. She'll be better off that way.”

Natasha sighed - curse all self pitying idiots she thought to herself. “I don't believe that, and I don't really think that you do either. You have time. Use it.”

He didn't reply, just stared morosely into the middle distance. Natasha slung her bag over her shoulder.

“I'm on your side,” she told him, “but I'm on her side too. I'll keep an eye on her, but you need to keep an eye on yourself. If you need anything - ANYTHING at all-”

He studied her intently, his face not revealing anything.

“I'll keep that in mind,” he said at last.

 

 

** 2015 **

 

Steve had been back at the tower just long enough to pack his things when a phone began ringing somewhere in his apartment. He looked around in confusion for a moment, and then carefully tracked the sound to a bookcase in the corner near the television. He contemplated the unfamiliar phone for a moment, and then answered it.

“Rogers.”

“What the hell Steve? I tip you off to another Hydra base and what do you do?” The voice at the other end of the phone was rough and tightly controlled.

“Bucky-”

“You were supposed to take the base out and rescue the kids, not create some robot overlord and destroy a whole fucking city,” Bucky continued angrily. “Is this how you keep my girl safe?”

“It wasn't-” Steve tried again, but Bucky wasn't interested in listening to his excuses.

“Is this how you keep the WORLD safe? If anything happened to her, I WILL come for you.”

“She wasn't here, she's fine,” Steve managed to get out, and he could hear the relieved silence at the other end.

“What the hell is wrong with this world Steve? Is this really what we died for?”

“I dunno Buck, I just- I just don't know.”

There was silence for a bit, and then Steve barely heard Bucky's next question.

“How is she?”

“She's good. They were at a conference down south somewhere, nowhere near all the kerfuffle.”

“Kerfuffle?” Bucky's voice was incredulous.

“What about you, how are you?” Steve deflected.

“I'm … I'm getting there. Still a few pieces missing… I uh, I might actually need some help with the last few bits,” Bucky admitted softly.

“You want a pick up?” Steve asked hopefully.

“Nah, not yet. Gotta coupla things to deal with, but soon. I'll keep in touch.”

“By sneaking phones into my apartment?”

“Well you weren't home so I couldn't exactly stay to chat over coffee and cake,” Bucky pointed out.

“I was a bit preoccupied,” Steve defended himself.

“Well, I'm glad you're all okay, I’ll be in touch.” There was a click, and the phone went dead.

“Bucky?”

 

*~*

 

When Darcy and Jane returned from wherever it was they'd been, Steve found himself the unwitting recipient of another telling off. Once Darcy got through with him, he then got a thorough dressing down from Jane for letting Thor disappear again.

The two women recovered as much as they could from the destroyed laboratory and headed upstate to settle in at the new facility. Steve took the time to look in on them and reassure himself that they were okay before returning to duty.

 

 

** 2016 **

 

It wasn't until she fell back into the lab that Darcy realised she hadn't told her soulmate her name.

“Jesus. Monkeyballs. CHRIST!!” She spat out as she lay on the floor and stared at the ceiling. “God fucking dammit!” She thumped the floor with her fists as she rolled over and curled up with her arms wrapped around her head. “Shit, shit, shit, damn, fuck.”

“Darcy? Are you okay? Oh thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried,” Jane said frantically as she scrambled over to her side.

“Janey, I am the biggest idiot in the whole damn world,” Darcy mumbled dejectedly from her armpit. “How's he gonna find me if he doesn't know my name?”

“What?” Jane said, startled and confused.

“All I had to do was stay for just **one more** minute instead of coming straight back through the wormhole, but noooo, I just jumped right back in didn’t I??” Darcy continued.

“Darcy! What on earth are you going on about?” Jane asked sharply.

Darcy uncurled and stared up at Jane.

“I met my soulmate Jane,” she said. “I time travelled into nineteen forty-something and met my soulmate.”

“You met your… holy… oh hell, it's not Steve is it?” Jane replied in shock, and then had second thoughts. “Hmm, no that wouldn't be right, although it would explain an awful lot.”

“Nope, wrong super soldier Jane. The other one.”

Darcy held up a hand and Jane reached out and grabbed it, her brow wrinkling in puzzlement as she helped Darcy up from the floor.

“What other one is… ohhhh.” Realisation dawned on her face. “OH! Really? But Steve hasn't even brought him back ye... Oh!”

Darcy landed on her feet, gave Jane A Look, and then promptly flopped into the nearest chair. “I think I need a drink. A very strong drink. I just… I just can't think straight right now.”

Jane rummaged around in a cupboard and pulled out a bottle and a pair of glasses.

“Remind me to replace this before Stark visits again,” she said as she splashed some of the bottle's contents into a glass and then shoved it into Darcy’s unresisting hand.

Darcy downed it, then another, and then sat up a little straighter as her brain began to recover from its shock and kick into gear.

“You know, this does maybe kind of explain why Steve's always asking us if anything interesting happened in the lab,” she said, gesturing with the empty glass.

“It does, doesn't it?” Jane agreed, nodding her head, and pouring herself a drink.

“Well shit.”

They sat in silence for a while, both contemplating the implications of Darcy's accidental trip through time.

Finally, Darcy spoke again.

”Jane, what if he doesn't remember me? I know what they did to him… I think… I think I need to go have a little chat with Captain America.”

 

*~*

 

It took three hours for Jane and Darcy to track down Steve, as the man seemed to have a knack for disappearing right when you wanted to confront him about something.

He was sitting at the dining table in the common area, deep in conversation with Sam about something on his phone, when the two women finally caught up with him. They very quickly brainstormed a plan of attack, and then they idly wandered into the kitchen, made themselves coffee, rummaged around in the cupboards for snacks and then carefully sat either side of him, boxing him in and cutting off all escape routes.

“Sam. **Steve,** ” Darcy greeted them. “How's your day going?”

“What? Oh hi Darcy, good, we're having a good day. You? Anything interesting happen in the labs today?” Steve replied, predictably but distractedly.

“Oh, I don't know. Jane, did anything interesting happen in the lab today?” she said sweetly.

Jane took a sip of her coffee and wrinkled her brow in mock thought.

“Well, I finally got the new equation to work, and you fixed the malfunctioning doohickey. Plus we got a delivery of some bits and pieces I've been waiting for so we could finish building the thingamabob. I think that's about it.”

She paused and took another sip, as Steve half-heartedly responded with a “That's good to hear,” and then held up her hand. “Oh, wait. There **was** another thing. Darcy do you remember what that other thing was? I know it wasn't very important or interesting but you always take so much interest, Steve, we'd hate to leave anything out.”

Sam was giving them both funny looks by now but Steve was still immersed in whatever was on his phone.

“Do you mean the stable wormhole you managed to create in the lab today Janey?” Darcy said brightly, and Sam muffled a snort as his eyes went wide. Darcy winked at him. “At least, it was stable until the power surged, and it swung around and rolled right over me, is that what you're thinking of?”

“Yes!” Jane smacked a hand in the table, “That's it. And then you disappeared for like, 30 seconds before falling right back out of it.”

“Yes! That's right, so I did, so I did,” Darcy exclaimed. Sam was looking between them with a look of dawning realisation and then they all looked at Steve and waited for it all to sink in. They could see the exact moment his brain caught up with his ears as his whole body went completely motionless, and then he turned his head very slowly and looked at Darcy.

“What?” he said, “It happened? It finally happened?”

Darcy narrowed her eyes at him. “Is there something you want to tell me Steve?” she asked bluntly.

 

*~*

 

“Darcy, I’ve been waiting two, no three years for this,” Steve said earnestly, “and you have no idea how happy I am to know that you made it back safe.”

“So the whole time I’ve known you, you knew that I was going to somehow fall back through time, and that Bucky Barnes is my soulmate?” she asked accusingly.

“Yes,” he said.

“Well that explains a hell of a lot,” Darcy said, as she flopped back into the lounge that they’d moved to. “You know, I always thought you liked to talk about him as some sort of therapy, which, I suppose, it kind of was, but you were really letting me get to know him, weren’t you?”

“There wasn’t really anything else I could do,” Steve explained. “I was pretty sure it hadn’t happened for you when I first met you, so I didn’t think it was a good idea to say anything. But I could still get to know you as my friend, so I did.”

“God, I have so many questions, I don't even know where to start.” Darcy said. “Oh god - Nat knows too, doesn't she?”

“Yes she does, and so does Sam.”

“Well I understand why Sam knows, but Nat? How? Why?” Darcy asked, surprised.

“I told her.”

“What? Why?”

“Darcy, it’s Nat. She was right behind me the day I met you at the tower, and knew straight away that there was something going on,” he said. “You think there’s any chance she wouldn’t have found out? I figured it was easier to just tell her the whole story straight up.”

“Hmph, well, you’ve probably got a point there,” Darcy conceded. “Man, this explains so much! So what now? Are you gonna go out looking for him again? Or do we just wait for him? What happens now? What do we do?”

“Well I haven’t heard from him for a while, so hopefully he’ll check in soon, and then I …”

“What do you mean you haven’t heard from him for a while? I thought you were still trying to find him?” Darcy demanded shrilly as his words registered.

“I don’t know where he is at the moment, but… I did find him. Just a few months after I first met you actually.”

Darcy looked at him in shock, which rapidly transformed into fury. “You what?”

“Just, listen for a moment will you? When Sam and I caught up to him he was still in a bad way. I had no chance of him coming home with me. I did tell him about you though.”

Darcy stared at him, almost afraid to ask the question. “Steve, did he…”

“Yes, he remembered you.” he reassured her, “and he remembered what you said to him.”

“Oh god,” Darcy groaned as her head thumped back onto the sofa. “I quoted that bloody Emily Blunt movie at him. ‘ _Come find me when you wake up_.’” She made air quotes as she said it.

“I thought that was a Tom Cruise movie?” Steve asked, sidetracked by the statement.

“I love Emily Blunt way more than I love Tom Cruise, she was the real hero, not him.” Darcy declared.

“He said that you also told him that you’d wait for him, until he was ready,” Steve returned to the point of the conversation. “And that’s the bit he **really** remembered. When he’s ready. So he stayed away, cos he thinks he’s dangerous, and he needs to put himself back together.”

Darcy narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you not offer to help him with that Steve?”

“Of course I did Darcy, but he was right. You didn’t know him yet, and he still had a lot of pieces of himself to find and put back together,” Steve said unapologetically. “He didn't trust himself around anyone.”

Darcy drooped. “Yeah okay, I'll let you off on that then.”

“It's okay Darcy. It's a lot to take in, and it's only been a few hours for you.”

“It all happened so quickly you know? The wormhole reappeared right after I woke up and I was just like, ‘Oh my god it's Bucky Barnes,’ in my head. And then he said my words and I was just - it made me happy.”

Steve smiled at the look on her face. “He always did have that effect on women.”

Darcy gasped in mock offence and slapped his shoulder. “I am not ‘women’ Rogers. And you've been setting me up for three years.”

“I have not been setting you up,” he protested. “I've been getting to know my best friends girl.”

She frowned at him.

“You think all those stories wouldn't make me feel something?”

“Not intentionally,” Steve said. "I still thought he was dead when I first met you remember. I just wanted to make sure you'd have someone to talk to after… well after you met him.”

“And then the shit hit the fan,” Darcy said. “Big time.”

“Yeah. It did.”

Silence fell as they considered the options.

“Right,” Darcy said as she abruptly sat up straight again. “He’s right. He needs to be better. But maybe we can help him. Or maybe…” she slumped down again and rubbed a hand across her eyes.

“Shit, it’s been like, four hours for me, he’s had to live through 70 years of… of **that** ,” she waved her hand around in the universal signal for ‘you know what I mean’. “I can wait. Just, let him know, okay, when you hear from him, or see him, or whatever, let him know. I can wait too.”

“It'll be okay Darcy,” Steve reassured her. “We just have to be patient.”

Steve stood up, gave Darcy a hug, and then looked around.

“Do you know where Sam went?”

Darcy looked around as well. “Nope, but I think he took Jane with him.”

 

*~*

The mission had gone smoothly, and Steve was doing the last bit of wrap up when someone moved into the doorway, blocking the light.

“Your security needs work - anyone could sneak in here,” a familiar voice said from behind him.

He straightened up and turned around.

“Bucky?” he said hopefully.

“Almost,” Bucky replied as he moved into the room.

“Just visiting then?” Steve asked, trying to hide his disappointment.

Bucky ducked his head, hair falling over his face.

“Actually I think I'm gonna need a bit of help with the last few bits,” he said softly.  “So you're gonna have to find me a private room or something.”

“I'm guessing you don't have an overwhelming desire to kill me any more then?” Steve asked jokingly.

“No more than the usual background levels,” Bucky said dryly.

“Huh, so that's how it is?”

“That's how it is,” Bucky agreed.

“Well,” Steve grinned and gave Bucky a look that made him feel a pang of nervousness.

“Well?” Bucky repeated.

“Well it's a good thing that there was an unusual lab accident a few weeks ago.”

 

*~*

 

Bucky wasn't sure how he was feeling.  The flight back was uneventful, and then the rest of their day was spent with paperwork. Paperwork to give him a proper life back, so he wasn't going to complain about it, no siree.

Steve had given him a guided tour of the facility that Howard Stark's son had built especially for the Avengers, including the currently deserted laboratory where his soulmate usually worked - and lived too, if Steve's tales of long nights and ‘science benders’ were to be believed.

They finished the tour in the common room, where Steve rustled them up some food, and then they sat on the couches and talked.

Steve was halfway through a story about Sam and some shrinking guy when two women entered the room, talking loudly, and not noticing the occupants of the living area at all. One of them was a petite woman with light brown hair, and the other... the other one was his soulmate, busy looking down at her phone and almost identical in appearance to the day more than 70 years ago when she'd appeared out of nowhere, said his words, and then disappeared again. His breath caught in his throat, and he just stared.

“Half an hour Darcy, that's all. I just need to get this written down before I forget it,” the other woman insisted. “You know, I could really use a cup of coffee.”

“Jane, it's almost midnight, don't you think that bed would be a better choice than coffee?” his soulmate asked dryly. “And then finish this in the morning?”

“I'm almost done Darcy, I promise, half an hour is all I need…” she trailed off as she caught sight of the two men, and he could see the moment she recognised him by the way her mouth formed a small perfect ‘O’ and she reached out and gripped her companion's arm, who kept talking, oblivious to everything except her diatribe.

“You say that every time Jane - Every.  Damn. Time. You know I don't believe you any more, right?”

“Darcy,” Jane said.

“No! Nothing you can say will change my mind-”

“Darcy!” Jane insisted, and Darcy finally looked up.

“Jesus monkeyballs Christ.”

 

*~*

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this took so long to get up, AO3 was being a cow...
> 
> My Tumblr, if you're interested, is  
> [ibelieveinturtles](http://ibelieveinturtles.tumblr.com/)


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